Blood Moon
by ChristyK
Summary: The Winchesters go to a small town in search of what might be a werewolf
1. Chapter 1

I wrote this one right after the new season began. After looking it over before posting it I noticed it has some similarities to Croatoan which are purely coincidental. Hope you like it. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

**Blood Moon**

"Hey here's something that could be interesting." Dean said leaning back in his chair as he looked at the computer screen. They had taken a few days off after their last hunt and now Dean was itching to get back into the action.

"What?" Sam asked as he stood at the front door to their motel room looking out into the early morning light.

"There's a small town in Maine that's being attacked by wild dogs. Seems five of their townsfolk have been attacked by dogs within the last few months. Some of the bodies were found with their throats ripped out."

"Only at night?" Sam asked walking over and standing behind Dean.

"Yep, only at night." Dean looked over his shoulder at Sam. "None of the dogs were ever found. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Werewolf."

"Could be. I ran a search on the dates of the attacks and everyone occurred during a full moon."

"How many people?"

"Four men, one woman."

"All killed?"

"Two of the men were killed and also the woman, the other two recovered. No mention of their names though, apparently the two that recovered didn't want their names released to the press."

"When was the last attack?" Sam said leaning down to see the screen.

"About a month ago…..There's going to be a full moon in a few days." Dean looked up at Sam. "What do you think, you want to go up there and take a look?"

"Well it's only a couple hundred miles from here."

"If we leave now we'll get there before noon."

"Then let's get packing."

**11:45 AM**

They pulled into the small coastal town of Bedford Maine and checked in at the only motel in town. They then headed to a local diner for lunch and to see if they could find out any information.

They entered the diner and were immediately met by the stares of the locals not use to having strangers in their small town.

The waitress seemed friendly enough as she walked over and gave them a smile.

"Hi." Dean looked up and gave her his most charming smile.

"Hi…..We don't get many strangers in town, you boys visiting friends?"

"Actually my brother and I are on a road trip. We've been camping out across the country trying to hit all the states before we go back to college."

"Oh…" The waitress had a worried look on her face.

"But we're staying at a motel this time. We heard there are wild dogs in the area and were warned about camping out. Do you know if that's true; are there wild dogs in the area?" Sam asked as he looked at the menu.

"Yes it was terrible. Five people were attacked, three died instantly."

"What about the other two?"

"They were ripped up pretty bad but they lived."

"Yeah, someone told us that a Bob Dreese and a John Miller were both pretty torn up."

The waitress gave a small laugh.

"Well who ever told you that got the names wrong. It was Riley Walton and Scott Barnet that survived. The others…" She shook her head sadly. "They were so torn up there was nothing anyone could do for them."

"They ever catch the dogs?"

"That's the strange thing. No one ever saw any wild dogs in the area."

"Do you know where attacks took place?"

"Two were down near the beach…. The other three were deeper in the woods. Some of the local hunters went out looking for the dogs but never found any." The waitress gave a nervous laugh. "But one of the hunters said he heard a growl and thought he saw a man running through the woods but nothing came of it, everyone figured he just imagined it."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the kind reviews, glad you like it so far.

**Blood Moon **

Chapter two

"Who thought they saw the man?" Sam asked.

"Oh that was Billy Ryder, but Billy drinks a lot and no one paid much attention to him. He spends most of his nights hanging out at the local bars."

The waitress then took their order and walked back to the kitchen.

**Later at their motel**

Sam sat on the bed with a telephone book in front of him writing down the addresses of the three men the waitress had mentioned.

"What do you say we head out to the bars and see if we can track down this Billy Ryder?" Dean asked.

"Might as well, we got to start somewhere."

**Local bar**

There were only two bars in the small town. The first bar yielded nothing, but the second bar hit pay dirt. The bar tender pointed out Billy Ryder who was sitting by himself in a corner.

They walked over and stood at his table.

"Hi." Dean said smiling.

The man looked up at them but said nothing.

"I'm Dean and this is my partner Sam, we're reporters with the Bedford Gazette." They both flashed their fake IDs "Mind if we sit down?"

The man waved his hand toward the chairs offering them a seat.

"We're writing a report on the recent dog attacks in town and we heard you arrived shortly after one of the attacks and were in on the search for the dogs." Sam said leaning forward in his seat.

"Yeah, I was there. But what I saw wasn't a dog." The man said as he took a swallow of his beer.

Sam glanced at Dean.

"What is it you saw?"

"You boys aren't going to believe me anymore then the people in town believed me."

"Try us."

"It wasn't a dog, it was a man…Well, not really a man, but it resembled a man."

"What do you mean?"

"I was in the woods right after the murder occurred and I heard this horrible growling noise behind me and I turned around and…." The man hesitated.

"Go on."

"I saw this….this thing….It looked half human, half animal… It was horrible."

"What happened?"

"I shot at it….I think I might have hit it in its hand."

"And?"

"Well it yelped in pain then ran off into the woods. I wasn't about to go after it…not after what I saw."

"No one else saw it?" Dean asked.

"Nope…..I'll admit it, I like my booze, but I wasn't drunk, I know what I saw."

"This ….this thing….What did it have on? What was it wearing?" Sam asked.

"It looked like work clothes to me, you know those one piece outfits mechanics wear, but they were ripped to shreds and…and covered in blood." The man looked back and forth between them. "You think I'm nuts don't you?"

"No Mr. Ryder, we don't think you're nuts."

**Later in the car**

"What do you think?" Sam asked.

"Well it certainly sounds like it could be a werewolf…or a shape shifter. But I'm leaning more toward werewolf since according to the computer all the attacks occurred during a full moon."

"The moon will be full the day after tomorrow."

"Ryder said he thinks he hit the thing in the hand." Dean looked at Sam. "I say we pay Mr.Walton and Mr. Barnet a little visit and see if either has any kind of injury to their hand."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter three

They wrote the address of the two men down then drove to Walton's house and parked outside.

"How do you want to play this?" Sam asked.

"How 'bout we play the good samaritan." Dean said as he took a tool out from under his car seat. "Let's see if we can get Walton out of his house."

They walked over to the car parked in the drive way and Dean stuck the burglary tool into the rubber flap at the top of the window and worked it down to the lock. He then popped the door open. He then put the tool in the back of his waistband and covered it with his jacket then hid behind the house. Sam then ran up to the front door and pounded on it.

A woman answered the door.

"Yes."

"My brother and I were walking by and we saw some man breaking into your car, my brother took off after him. Maybe your husband better take a look and make sure nothing was stolen." Sam said.

The woman turned around and called to her husband. He came up behind her and looked at Sam.

"Riley, this man saw someone breaking into your car. He said you better make sure nothing was taken." She explained to him.

"Damn kids. Always breaking into things…" The man came out from behind her and Sam noticed that neither of his hands appeared to be injured.

Walton checked out his car then relocked it just as Dean ran up.

"Sorry…he got away…" Dean said acting like he was trying to catch his breath. "Did he get anything?"

"No, everything's there as far as I can tell….Thanks for letting us know, not everyone would have gotten involved." Walton shook their hands then turned and went back into his house.

"He seemed fine. No injuries to his hand." Sam told Dean as Walton shut the door.

"We might as well try the same thing with Barnet."

**Later **

They drove to Barnet's, popped his car open, then Sam walked up to the door while Dean hid behind the side of the house.

It was opened by Barnet.

"My brother and I saw someone breaking into your car, my brother chased after him but maybe you want to make sure nothing was stolen."

The man came outside and Sam immediately noticed his right hand was bandaged.

Barnet checked his car then locked it back up.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Sam said as Dean ran up.

"Sorry I lost him." Dean said as he glanced at the bandaged hand.

"I'll be sure to tell the neighbors to keep an eye out on their cars. Thanks again." Barnet said as he headed back into his house.

"Well I guess we have our man." Sam looked over at Dean.

"Two more days till the next full moon."

"Hopefully he's single. When I looked in the door I didn't see any kid's toys or anything lying around the living room, and he doesn't have a ring on."

"Thank God for that. At least we don't have to worry about him changing and killing his family."

"Well if he didn't taste human blood yet we might still be able to save him if we can find the werewolf that attacked him and destroy it."

"We don't even know if the werewolf that attacked him is still in the area. Some of these things deliberately hunt far from their neighborhoods."

"But we can't just kill him if there's a chance we might be able to help him."

"Sam, we got to end this before he has a chance to attack anyone. Once he does we're going to have another werewolf to worry about. We end him as soon as we see him change."

"Dean…"

"Sam, don't you go soft on me. We're here to stop this thing; we got to cut off the bloodline."

"I thought we were here to protect people. Dean, Barnet is an innocent man, he didn't ask for this to happen to him."

"Was an innocent man Sam. Once that thing bit him it sealed his fate. Sam, we have no idea where the werewolf that infected him is, or if Barnet has already tasted human blood. But if he has we can't let him spread the virus. We'll keep an eye on him, and when the moon comes up and we know for sure he's infected, we end him."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews, I hope you continue to like the story.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter four

**Two days later - Evening**

The brothers sat in their car across from Barnet's house waiting to follow him if he left it. Dean sat in the driver's seat loading their guns with silver bullets. He looked over at his brother who was unusually quiet.

"You okay?"

Sam only nodded.

Dean put his arm across the back of the seat and turned toward Sam.

"Look Sam, we have no choice in this, you know that. You're acting like you think I enjoy this. If Barnet doesn't change with the moon, then he's fine, he lives. But if he does, we got to end it. If he gets away from us who knows how many people he'll infect."

Sam looked down sadly.

"I know… it's just that….A lot of these things we kill once used to be human. And I just wish there would be a way to save them instead of killing them."

"The only way to save someone is if we kill the werewolf that infected them, and then it's still not a sure thing. You read Dad's journal, he thinks the infection will lessen over time as long as the infected person doesn't taste human blood. But with Barnet…we have no idea who infected him, and we have no idea if he's killed before. If he did….well then there's no way to help him except putting him out of his misery."

Dean put his hand up to silence their talk as Barnet came out of the house and casually got in his car.

"Doesn't look like a man whose about ready to go out looking for someone to slaughter does he?" Dean said looking through his side window.

Sam leaned down and looked out Dean's window.

"Maybe he's not. We don't know for sure that he was even bitten by the werewolf."

"Well the odds are he was." Dean stuck one of the guns into his waistband and handed Sam the other one.

"Why are you always so anxious to kill something?"

"What?" Dean looked over at Sam.

"You just seem to enjoy killing things."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

"It's like you don't even want to consider the fact that this guy might not be infected."

"Yeah Sam I enjoy killing, I enjoy killing those evil son of a bitches out there, and you should too."

"Even when it's not his fault?"

"Sam, it may not be his fault but if he was bit he's going to kill or infect others, we kill him and we end his bloodline…simple as that."

Sam looked away and shook his head sadly. He knew Dean was right, if the man was infected and if he had already tasted human blood there was nothing they could do for him.

Dean waited till the man drove past them then followed at a safe distance.

**Later**

They followed Barnet throughout the evening and watched as he first stopped at a store and bought some groceries then stopped at a bar and had a few drinks. But as the moon started to come up he left the bar and headed out to a nearby lake surrounded by woods, he parked his car, and walked into the woods

"Here we go." Dean said as he parked his car a short distance away then he and Sam got out of the car and followed Barnet into the woods. But even though they were only a few seconds behind him he had already vanished into the thick woods. "Watch your back Sam." Dean said as he turned in a circle trying to decide which direction to head in.

They slowly and carefully walked into the woods listening for any sound that would indicate that Barnet was nearby.

"How did he disappear that quick?" Sam asked as they both took out their flashlights and shone them into the woods while keeping their gun out in front of them with their other hand.

"I don't know, just keep your eyes open."

They walked side by side constantly looking behind them as they walked. Then a noise to their left caused them to stop. They both pointed their flashlights to the left and could see the bushes moving in the distance.

"He's in there Sam let's go!" Dean shouted as he ran toward the bushes with Sam right behind him. But as Sam followed he tripped over a large root in the ground and went down hard, his gun flying from his hand.

"Dean wait!" He shouted a warning to his brother as he felt around the ground for his gun.

"Sam you okay?" Dean turned back to his brother.

"I lost my gun…be careful…" Using the flashlight Sam frantically looked around the ground for the dropped gun. When he found it he picked it up and pointed the light toward Dean. His eyes widened in fear as he saw two glowing eyes standing right behind his brother.

"Dean down!" Sam screamed as he ran toward Dean.

Dean dropped to the ground and rolled to the right just as his brother jumped protectively in front of him. Dean raised his gun, but not in time. He heard Sam cry out in pain as the creature attacked him.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks so much for the kind reviews. I appreciate each of them.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter five

"Sam!" Dean yelled as he fired toward the creature being careful not to hit his brother. The thing howled in pain and ran off into the woods. "Sammy!" Dean ran over to Sam who was down on one knee in obvious pain. "Sammy…" Dean knelt next to him and could see blood running down from Sam's shoulder and across his chest and back. "Did it bite you or did it scratch you?"

"I don't know…" Sam squeezed his eyes shut as Dean examined the wound being careful not to get any of the blood in an open cut. "I'm sorry Dean…I tripped and lost my gun." Sam looked up at his brother.

"Don't worry about it." Dean tried to hide his own worry from Sam as he looked at the wound. "Sam, I got to get you out of here and get these cuts cleaned up." He reached down and helped Sam up and then helped him out of the woods and back to the car.

**Back at the motel**

Sam sat on the bed while Dean cleaned out his wound. He winced in pain as Dean poured antibiotic into the deep cuts.

"It's a bite isn't it?" Sam asked as he looked at his shoulder.

Dean swallowed hard…he could see the fear in his brother's eyes, fear he himself felt.

"We don't know that Sam, it could just be a deep scratch." Dean prayed that was true, if it was a bite Sam would be in big trouble.

"Yeah, but what if it isn't? What if that thing bit me?"

"Well if it bit you then we know it now tasted human blood…we end it."

"Yeah, but what about me Dean?...What if I'm infected?" Dean looked away not knowing what to say. "Dean you can't ignore it, if I got bit…."

"Sam if you got bit, as long as you don't taste human blood….we'll find some way to deal with it." Dean said interrupting him.

"How Dean…lock me up every time there's a full moon?"

"Yeah, if I have to."

Sam shook his head and looked down.

"I don't want to live like that. If it turns out I'm infected I want you to end it…or if you can't, I will."

"Sam…if I can kill Barnet it will lessen the curse on you, and I'll find someway to help you."

"The only way to help me if I'm infected is to put a bullet in my heart, and you know that."

"Sammy…" Dean shook his head as he started to protest.

"Dean…you didn't have any problem about wanting to kill Barnet, this is no different."

"Damn it Sammy!" Dean walked over to the window and looked out. Sam was right, he would have killed Barnet and never have even lost sleep over it, it was what he had been trained to do. But this was Sam, his baby brother they were talking about. He'd rather die himself then put a bullet in him.

"Dean…if you can't do it…" Sam knew if the situation was reversed he wouldn't be able to do it either. "If you can't do it, I'll go off somewhere and do it myself."

"Nobody's doing anything Sam." Dean spun around. "We don't even know if it's a bite, it could just as easily be a scratch."

"Well we'll know by tomorrow night, the moon will still be mostly full, and if I react to it I want you to end it. … I mean it Dean…I don't want to turn into that thing."

"Sam, if you are infected I'll make sure you don't hurt anyone. But don't ask me to kill you, because it ain't happening."

"If you don't…I will…as soon as I can, I'll end it."

Dean shook his head sadly and walked away. He prayed it wouldn't come to that.

**The next day **

They spent the day hanging around the motel each nervously awaiting the night. During the afternoon they picked up food at a fast-food restaurant and took it back to the motel where it sat untouched. Both of them had lost their appetite as they waited for the moon to rise. While Sam was showering Dean went to the car and got out a pair of silver handcuffs and some rope then went back to the motel and hid the items under the bed. If Sam did start to react to the full moon, he'd be ready. He then made sure his gun was fully loaded with silver bullets, not for Sam but for Barnet. Tonight he'd track him down and kill him.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter six

Sam walked out of the bathroom dressed only in jeans as he towel dried his hair. He swallowed hard when he saw Dean sitting on the bed holding the gun in his hand, a gun which maybe tonight would be ending his life. Dean saw the look on Sam's face and quickly put the gun down next to him.

"It's okay Dean, you need to be ready." Sam said assuming the gun was for him.

Dean couldn't believe how calmly his brother talked. It was as if he was asking him if he was ready to go to the store, not as if he was asking him to be ready to kill him if necessary.

"It's not going to come to that Sam."

"But if it does…you know what to do."

"Yeah, I know what to do." Dean reassured Sam but he knew the 'what to do' didn't include killing his brother.

**Early evening**

Dean knew he should be out looking for Barnet but there was no way he could leave Sam alone. He dreaded the coming night and what it might bring. He stood at the motel door looking out into the slowly darkening night while Sam paced nervously inside. Sam suddenly walked over and stood next to Dean, his eyes filled with tears.

"Dean…I can feel it….I can feel it happening….I'm sorry…I'm sorry but you got to end it for me.…" Sam knew it would just about kill Dean to shoot him but he knew Dean had no choice, it had to be done. "Oh God…." Sam moaned as he wrapped his arms around his stomach as pain shot through his entire body.

Dean turned around and looked at Sam, his own eyes filled with tears. It was obvious Sam had been infected. His brother stood in front of him his eyes rimmed in red, his fists clenching and unclenching at his side as the pain left his body and his mind began to fill with rage as it reacted to the virus in his body. Dean could tell Sam was trying to control his emotions but it was impossible. He watched as his brother's face turned from fear to a mask of hate and rage, but he also knew Sam wouldn't turn into a full werewolf until he made his first human kill and tasted their blood. There might still be hope for him.

"Get away from the door!" Sam glared at Dean.

"No." Dean said as he held his ground.

"I said get away from the door!" Sam grabbed Dean's arm and threw him across the room.

Dean quickly recovered and ran over and once more blocked the door.

"I can't let you go out there Sam."

"Move!" Sam screamed as his eyes began to turn yellowish.

"You're not going anywhere Sam!"

"Get out of my way!" Sam once more threw Dean across the room. This time he hit the wall hard and winced as he slid down it then sat at the bottom of it stunned as he watched Sam approach him. Sam's face softened and Dean could tell his brother was trying to fight back his anger. "Dean…do it…. end it now … please…." Sam begged Dean as he looked down at him. But a few seconds later Sam couldn't fight it any longer as the rage he felt took completely over. He reached down and grabbed Dean's arm and threw him once more across the room, he then started to head for the door. Dean knew he had to react quickly, if Sam got out and attacked someone and tasted their blood there would be no hope for him. He took out his gun and ran up behind him, then slammed the gun hard against the side of Sam's head. Sam fell to the floor stunned.

"I'm sorry Sammy." Dean knew he had to act fast. He retrieved the handcuffs and rope from under the bed then pulled Sam's arms behind him and handcuffed them then tied his feet together with the rope. He then took duct tape out of his backpack and put it over Sam's mouth. Then as if trying to calm a wild animal he put a blindfold over his brother's eyes. Sam quickly recover from the blow and began to struggle violently against his restraints.

"Sorry Sam but there's no way I'm blowing you away."

He then went outside and opened the trunk to his car. He rearranged the weapons inside putting most into the hidden compartment under the trunk, the rest he tossed into the back seat. He then went back into the motel and picked up Sam who continued to struggle. Then as gently as he could he put him in the trunk. Sam kicked out wildly as Dean lowered the trunk lid. Once shut Dean patted the top of it. "Sorry Sammy." He said softly as he listened to his brother kicking the inside of the trunk. He blinked back tears as he jumped in the driver's seat and headed once more to the woods hoping to come across Barnet. Tonight he'd take Barnet down, or die trying.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Hope you continue to like the story, thanks for the reviews.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter seven

Dean drove to the woods hoping Barnet would be there. He knew now that Barnet had attacked Sam and tasted his blood he had to die; there was no way that he knew of to help him. Dean drove around the lake looking for Barnet's car and was beginning to worry when at first he didn't spot it, but finally he found it parked down a path that led into the woods. He knew there was a small town nearby and figured one of the town's residents would probably be Barnet's next intended victim. He parked near the car and checked his gun making sure it was fully loaded with silver bullets; he then got out of his car and stood next to the trunk. He knew the trunk wasn't air tight and that Sam had plenty of air but he was worried that he hadn't heard him kicking around inside the trunk for the last half hour. He slowly opened the lid to check on him. Sam lay on his side facing the back of the trunk not moving.

"Sam?" Dean said softly as he put his hand on his brother's shoulder. As soon as he was touched he began thrashing about in the trunk determined to get loose. "Sorry Sammy." Dean blinked back tears as he patted Sam on the shoulder and shut the lid.

He hated leaving his brother alone in the trunk but knew he had no choice; it was the safest place for him right now. But what really worried Dean was what would happen if this hunt didn't go the way he intended it to. What if Barnet killed him tonight, what would happen to Sam? What if no one found the car and by putting Sam in the trunk in order to save him, he actually ended up causing his death. And even if the car was found and Sam was released what kind of life would he have? His whole family would be dead and at the next full moon he would turn into a creature who would go out hunting for human flesh. Knowing Sam, he would probably end up killing himself instead of hurting someone. Dean knew if he didn't kill Barnet tonight or if he died himself his brother was as good as dead. With his gun hanging by his side he headed into the woods determined to find and destroy Barnet.

Even though the moon was full the thick woods were dark making it extremely difficult to see very far in front of you. Dean had to rely on his fine tuned hearing, every little noise causing him to spin around his gun held out in front of him. He knew if Barnet got away Sam was doomed. But even if he managed to kill him the infection was already in his brother's blood. He knew of only one person he trusted who might be able to help Sam, but if he couldn't be helped his brother would spend the rest of his life having to be locked away with every full moon. If Sam ever tasted human blood there would be nothing he could do for him and he also knew his brother would rather die then turn into a creature every full moon whose only thought was to kill. That's what worried Dean that Sam might actually end up taking his own life rather then having to live like that. Dean squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds trying to get his mind off the possible future and back on the hunt. He then continued deeper into the woods.

He had walked for about five minutes when he heard a rustling in the nearby bushes and turned toward the sound then smiled when he realized it was only a rabbit. But as he turned back he sensed something wasn't right. He dropped to one knee as he spun around the gun held out in front of him. But he hadn't been fast enough….the gun was ripped from his hand by the creature who now stood over him. He could barely make out Barnet's features through the snarling hair covered face but he knew it was him. Barnet had tasted Sam's blood and now was a full fledged werewolf. Dean dove toward his gun, knowing that killing Barnet was Sam's only hope. But just as he was about to put his hand on it the creature reached down and grabbed his jacket. He could feel himself flying through the air as he was picked up and thrown against a tree. He hit it hard and lay stunned at the bottom of it as he watched Barnet walk toward him. He tried to get up; he had to get to the gun, but a sharp pain in his side caused him to gasp in pain as he fell back to the ground his hand pressing against his battered ribs. He tried to ignore the pain and was about to try again for the gun but now the creature stood directly over him blocking his path.

"I'm sorry Sammy." He said softly knowing he had failed his brother. He shut his eyes and turned his head to the side as the creature started to reach for him. Every instinct in him told him to fight but he knew it was useless, his only protection, the gun, lay too far away and he knew without it he was no match for the creature.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Wow Hunted was awesome last night! I'll be flying high all day thinking about it. Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them.

**Blood Moon **

Chapter eight

When the attack didn't come immediately Dean opened his eyes. He could see the creature's attention was directed at something coming out of the woods. It was Sam.

"Sammy?" Dean couldn't believe his eyes. Somehow Sam had slipped the cuffs and opened the trunk. He knew the only way that could have happened was if Sam, the real Sam, had somehow fought and taken back control of his mind and body. Sam was as good as he was at picking locks and it wouldn't have taken him long to free himself from the cuffs and the trunk. But he could tell the virus was still running rampant in his brother's body. Sam's face was sweaty and full of hate and rage as he walked over and stood protectively in front of him and Dean could tell it was taking all of his brother's strength to fight the violence that was just waiting to erupt from him. "Sam get out of here." Dean knew his brother had already been injured by the werewolf and he knew if the thing attacked him again it might kill him this time.

The werewolf growled softly as it faced Sam, it could sense that he was infected and wasn't sure what to expect from him. Was he there to try and take his victim away from him or to feast with him?

"Get the hell away from him!" Sam said through clenched teeth.

The creature immediately charged Sam once it knew he was there to help his prey. But the virus running through Sam's blood gave him almost super human strength and he didn't back away from the fight. Dean watched as Sam held his own against the creature at first but he could tell his brother wouldn't last long against Barnet who had the full strength of the virus flowing through his blood. Dean began slowly moving toward the gun hoping not to attract the creature's attention. He could see that Sam was taking a bad beating and he was his brother's only hope. He finally reached the gun and turned it toward Barnet.

"Sam get away from him!" He knew he couldn't fire until he was sure he wouldn't hit his brother.

Sam glanced over at Dean and Barnet took advantage of the momentary lack of attention toward him. He slashed out at Sam with his long claw like fingers putting a deep cut in Sam's side. Sam winced in pain, then full of rage grabbed Barnet by his shredded clothes and tossed him away from him. Two shots rang out and Barnet fell dead between the two brothers. They stood and watched as his features slowly turned human again. They then looked at each other and Dean could tell Sam was in pain but he also could see the fear in his brother's eyes.

"Sammy…." Dean slowly reached out toward him. "It's going to be okay Sammy….let me take you back to the car, let me help you."

Dean started walking slowly toward Sam but he could see the wild look in Sam's eyes and knew right now Sam was more animal then human. Sam backed away, a part of him knew the man standing in front of him was his brother and meant him no harm. But another part of him was terrified by the hate and rage that was building in him. He had to get away, he knew if he didn't he might end up hurting the brother he had almost died trying to protect. He kept backing away as Dean approached.

"Sammy….I'm not going to hurt you…. I just need you to come with me." Dean could tell his brother was ready to bolt. "Everything will be alright Sam….We'll go back to the motel….It's going to be okay…" He kept speaking softly trying to reassure his brother.

But Sam was terrified and right now his only thought was to get as far away from Dean as he could. He backed up till his back was against a tree, his eyes wild with fear.

"Easy Sammy….easy…I'm not going to hurt you." Dean held up his hands showing his brother he meant him no harm.

Sam suddenly ran toward Dean and knocked him down then ran off into the woods.

"Sam! Sammy!" Dean began to run after him but Sam was too fast and he lost him in a matter of seconds. Dean shone the flashlight into the woods as tears filled his eyes. "Sammy!" He shouted again knowing it was useless. His brother was gone. He had saved his life then vanished into the night. Dean knew if his brother attacked anyone and tasted their blood he'd lose him forever. "Sammy!" He cried out again as he fell to his knees, his arm tight around his injured ribs.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

I appreciate the reviews, thanks a lot. Glad you like it so far and hope you continue to.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter nine

Dean spent the next few hours walking through the woods trying to find some sign of Sam. Finally he went back to his car and drove around the perimeter of the woods praying he'd see his brother walking along the roadside.

"Where are you Sammy….where are you?" He kept repeating to himself over and over as he looked out the window and into the darkness hoping to spot Sam.

Dean knew now that he had killed Barnet they had to head out of town. The last thing they needed was to become involved in a police investigation. But he couldn't leave without Sam and right now he had no idea where he was or even if he was still alive. Was Sam out looking for a victim or had he become Barnet's victim and now lay dead from his injuries somewhere in the woods? Or was Sam alive and would kill tonight and taste human blood? Was he going to lose his brother to this virus? Dean slammed his hand down on the steering wheel in frustration as a million different thoughts filled his mind.

"Damn it Sammy where are you?" Dean whispered as he fought back tears.

**Dawn**

Dean drove around the area throughout the night frantically looking for his brother.

"Where the hell are you Sammy?" Dean knew the longer it took to find Sam the more likely it was when and if he did find him it wasn't going to be good. He had watched Barnet attack Sam and knew he had been injured but how bad he had no idea. For all he knew his brother could be lying dead somewhere. He was just about to park the car and once more head into the woods when he spotted something lying in a drainage ditch alongside the road. He pulled over, got out of his car, and hurried over to the ditch.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted when he realized it was his brother and quickly jumped down next to him. Sam lay curled up on his side in the ditch covered in blood and debris he had been barely visible from the road and Dean knew it was a miracle he had found him at all. "Sammy…" Dean said as he put his hand on Sam's shoulder then gently rolled him onto his back. He winced when he saw the cuts and bruises that covered his brother's body. "Oh God Sammy…." Dean blinked back tears as he pulled Sam into his arms. He had no idea how bad his brother had been hurt but he could tell from all the blood in the ditch that he had lost a lot of blood. He pushed Sam's long dark hair out of his eyes. "Sammy…come on Sammy I need you to wake up for me…come on buddy…open your eyes…." He talked softly as he patted Sam on the side of his face. Finally Sam moaned and slowly opened his eyes and looked into Dean's. "Thank God." Dean said as he let out the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. "Hey…" He gave Sam a little smile. "You had me worried."

"S...Sorry." Sam said as he tried to move but every movement ended with him wincing in pain..

"Sam just take it easy…I don't know how bad you're hurt." Dean said as he tried to check out Sam's injuries. He knew he shouldn't touch his brother's blood but as long as it didn't enter an open cut he should be fine, plus right now he didn't care about the blood, all he cared about was Sam. He hissed in his breath when he saw the deep wounds covering Sam's chest and shoulders and could feel heat radiating off of his body. "Sammy these look bad….I think I'm going to have to take you to the hospital." Dean knew the hospital would ask a million questions but he had no choice. Some of Sam's wounds looked deep and could be infected.

"No….no….Dean I can't….just get me back to the motel." Sam tried to get up but ended up collapsing back into Dean's arms.

"Sammy we don't have a choice. These cuts are deep and you need them cleaned out and stitched."

"You can do it….you've done it before."

"Sam this is different, you need professional help. … Beside's you're running a fever and…."

"Dean….I was attacked by a werewolf….How are they going to help me?" Sam's eyes filled with tears as he looked up at his brother. "Dean I'm scared. Last night….I could barely hold it together…next time I might not be able to."

"But you did. You saved my butt Sam. Somehow you held it together long enough to break out of the trunk and follow me. If it wasn't for you …I'd be dead."

"Yeah…but what you don't know is that it took all of my will power not to rip your throat out. Dean…the virus is in me and sooner or later I'm going to kill someone, maybe even you."

"Not if I can help it….Barnet's dead so his blood line stops with you. As long as you don't taste human blood I'm thinking the virus will lose its potency with each full moon, and that means the urge to kill will lessen."

"And how many months will that take, or how many years? Dean…you should have shot me back there. I should have died with Barnet."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter ten

"That wasn't even an option."

"One day it might be the only one you have Dean."

"Well it ain't going to happen." Dean put Sam's arm over his shoulder and helped him up. He could barely stand and leaned heavily on his brother, but with Dean's help he managed to get to the car. Dean looked at him and didn't try to hide the worry from his face. "Sam you're bleeding pretty bad….I'm taking you to the hospital, I don't have a choice."

"No….If you take me to the hospital and they find Barnet's body, we're both going down…..I'll be okay, just take me back to the motel."

"Sam…." Dean started to protest. Sam's injuries look more severe then he was prepared to deal with. They both had extensive first aide training and patched each other up many times, but Sam's wounds looked worse then any he ever had to deal with.

"Dean, we don't have time to argue about this, we got to get out of here. If someone found Barnet's body and if they find us in the area…."

Dean knew Sam was right. They had to get back to the motel. Once there if there was nothing he could do for his brother he'd take him to the hospital even if he had to hogtie him to get him there.

**Motel**

Dean helped Sam into the room and sat him on the bed. He then carefully helped him take off his blood saturated shirt. Dean winced in sympathy and worry when he saw the wounds on his brother's chest and shoulders.

"Sam …some of these cuts are really deep, they need to be thoroughly cleaned out and I can't do that here. I really think you should let me take you to the hospital. We'll make up some story about how you got hurt."

"No hospital…. Just pour some whiskey in them, it'll kill the germs."

"Maybe some of them but …"

"Just do it." Sam interrupted him.

Dean knew he didn't have time to argue with Sam. He had to get his wounds cleaned up the best he could. He got a wash basin and a wash cloth then filled the basin with hot soapy water, he then began to gently wipe the blood off of Sam's chest. Sam reached up and took the cloth out of his hand.

"You better not touch my blood; if you have a cut and my blood gets into it….you might get infected….I'll do it."

Dean grabbed the cloth back from Sam.

"I'll be careful….now sit back and let me clean you up."

"Dean…."

"Just shut up Sam and let me take care of it." Dean began cleaning the wounds.

"Dean don't be stupid…." Sam hissed in his breath when Dean started to clean a deep cut across his chest then continued. "If you get infected we're both going to die."

"No one's dying Sammy, not you, not me."

Sam gave Dean a sad smile.

"Dean…you know there's nothing you can do for me…it's too late. I could have killed you tonight…. As soon as I started to turn you should have ended it."

"That's true, you could have killed me tonight, but you didn't…instead you saved my life. That tells me you can control it, it might be hard but…you can control it. And now that Barnet's dead it should even make it a little easier to control."

"But what about the next time Dean? What if I can't control it next time? ….That's why I ran you know, I ran because I could feel the hate inside me and I didn't know how long I could fight it. I knew if I stayed there I'd kill you."

"You don't know that Sam, not for sure."

"I know how I was feeling Dean At first when I was in the trunk I managed to fight it. I knew Barnet was out there and he'd kill you if he found you. I knew I had to help you. But once Barnet was dead …" Tears filled Sam's eyes as he remembered the feeling. "Once he was dead the hate didn't go away Dean…I thought it would but it didn't. If I would have stayed there I would have ripped your throat out. Next time I might."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks so much for the reviews, each one is appreciated.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter eleven

"Sam you fought the virus once, you'll fight it again."

"I don't know if I can. I came so close to losing it last night, it took every ounce of strength I had not to attack you."

"But Barnet's dead now….and it's just like with vampires, if you sever the bloodline the hold on you lessens."

"But it's still there, it doesn't go away. Every damn full moon it's going to return. I don't want to live like that, and I'm not going to."

"What the hell's that suppose to mean?" Dean stopped cleaning Sam's wounds and stood back and looked at him.

"Dean…the demon wants me for some plan of his…now I have to deal with this too? Well I'm not going to; I'm going to end it before the next full moon, before someone else gets hurt."

"So you're just going to go off and blow yourself away…." Dean sat back and looked at Sam. He knew exactly how Sam was feeling; hell he'd feel the same way too if it was him. But this was his baby brother they were talking about and there was no way he was going to let Sam go off and kill himself without doing everything in his power to stop it. "Damn it Sammy we're going to find a way through this, and that doesn't include you blowing yourself away."

Sam looked at Dean with tears glistening in his eyes.

"I'm tired Dean….I'm tired of everything. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder for the cops or the demon. I'm tired of having to lie to everyone about who we are and what we do. I'm tired of trying to be strong, trying to pretend that I'm not ripped apart inside because of Mom, Dad, and Jess…because I am. I'd sacrifice myself in a heartbeat if it would bring any of them back. And I'm tired of running…. I just want it all over with."

Dean swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked at his brother.

"Sam…."

"And don't go telling me there is a cure for this….I know there isn't. I've read Dad's journal too you know. The only cure for this is a silver bullet in the heart."

"Okay Sam I'm not going to lie to you, there is no known cure but I know Dad was working on one. I know he made some breakthroughs."

"I never saw Dad working on a cure for this kind of virus."

"It was after you went off to school. Dad and Bobby spent months working on controlling the infection."

"And…"

"And they were close to finding a way of controlling it."

"Controlling it isn't curing it. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what's going to happen every full moon. … Dean I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"I want you to promise me that if you see me turning and if I can't control it ….I want you to shoot me."

"Sammy…." Dean shook his head sadly and looked down as he continued cleaning Sam's wounds. "How the hell am I suppose to promise you that?"

"I mean it Dean….if you don't promise me, the first chance I get I'll do it myself."

"You selfish son of a bitch!" Dean stepped back and tossed the washcloth in the bloody water and looked at his brother. "You want to go out and blow yourself away without even giving me a chance to help you. This whole mess isn't only about you. ….What about me? You go off and play hero by killing yourself….what the hell am I suppose to do? My whole family will be gone."

"Dean…I don't want to upset you." Sam said softly. "But I'm scared…I'm scared I'm not going to be able to control it. I'm scared I'm going to hurt you ….or maybe somebody else. And I don't want that. Please Dean…if you give a damn about me…you'll promise me if this virus can't be controlled….you'll take care of it for me. Please Dean …promise me."

Dean's heart broke when he saw the anguish on Sam's face. He knew what his brother wanted to hear but he also knew he'd do anything in his power not to follow through with Sam's wishes.

"Okay Sam….but you have to let me see if I can help you first. I don't want you going off and doing something stupid before we try every option."

"I won't….But I want to hear you say it Dean…I want to hear you promise you'll kill me if it comes down to it."

Dean swallowed hard.

"Okay Sam. I promise if I can't help you…..I'll kill you."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks again for the reviews. Glad you like the story so far.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter twelve

"Good." Sam said sitting back and visibly relaxing. "Thanks." He hoped Dean would keep his promise. He knew he would rather die then turn into something they normally would be hunting.

Dean just shook his head and kept his eyes down as he cleaned Sam's wounds. He tried to keep his mind on the present and not allow himself to think of what might happen with the next full moon. He knew his Dad and Bobby were working on ways of destroying the virus that much was true, but he had no idea if they had come up with any. All he knew was that he had to get his brother to Bobby's and find out if there was anyway to help him. He had promised Sam he'd kill him if there was nothing they could do for him, but how the hell could he kill his own brother? He'd rather die himself then put a bullet in Sam. Dean's face wrinkled with worry when he came across a particularly deep wound.

"Damn it Sam, these are really bad…I still think you need to go to the hospital, if these cuts get infected…"

"If I go to the hospital there's going to be a lot of questions, especially if someone discovered Barnet's body. They'll call the cops Dean and we can't have cops snooping through our business, you know that."

"Yeah I know that…but these cuts are really deep and it they get infected we're not going to have a choice, you could die." When Sam still didn't seem convinced Dean continued. "Look, I can take you to another hospital out of state just to be safe."

"They're going to ask how I was hurt. Dean you can tell some of these are bite marks, what am I suppose to tell them? The wild dog attacks have been on the news nationwide; they'll put two and two together and figure I was in the area." Sam could see the worry on his brother's face. "Dean…" He said softly. "I appreciate that you're trying to help me and all but…we got to face reality, I've been bitten by a werewolf and there's nothing anyone can do for me."

"Damn it Sammy I don't want you giving the hell up until we know it's hopeless. If Dad was here he'd kick your ass just for thinking that way."

"Dean, I'm not scared to die. If it comes down to it I'd rather die then have to live month to month waiting for the next full moon….waiting to see what happens. It's my decision Dean, and I want you to respect it. You'll do that won't you?"

"We're heading for Bobby's as soon as I get you patched up." Dean said ignoring Sam's question.

"Dean, Bobby's a long way off."

"Then we'll fly."

Sam gave a little laugh.

"Fly? You're terrified of flying and I'm not going to put you through that. We can drive….we have a month till the next full moon."

"Okay, but we leave as soon as I'm done here."

Dean cleaned the wounds the best he could then had Sam take a shower to get rid of the dirt and blood that caked his body. He then stitched up the deeper wounds and smeared them with antibiotic cream then lightly bandaged them. He then took a quick shower himself. He could tell Sam was exhausted and helped him into the back seat of the Impala then jumped in the driver's seat and began the long ride to Bobby's

**Later**

Dean called Bobby from the road to make sure it was okay if they came. He knew it would take four days of driving straight through to reach Bobby's and he only stopped along the way to eat and to pull over at rest stops to get a few hours sleep before getting back on the road. Sam took over driving for a few hours each day but Dean knew he wasn't feeling well and insisted that he rest. He changed Sam's bandages every day and was glad to see that the wounds looked like they were slowly healing. His brother might have some nasty scars on his chest but at least they hadn't gotten infected.

They kept the conversation light through out the trip and never brought up the virus. But as they neared Bobby's Sam looked over at Dean, he knew they couldn't avoid the subject forever.

"Remember you promised, if this doesn't work…."

"Sam, it's going to work, I'm not even going to think otherwise and I don't want you to either."

"But if it doesn't…." Sam could see the haunted look on Dean's face. "Dean…if you can't do it I understand…I'll do it myself. I'll just go off somewhere alone. But you gotta promise me you won't try to stop me."

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for the reviews…

**Blood Moon**

Chapter thirteen

"Sam…" Dean shook his head and looked out the side window.

"You already promised me Dean….I just want to make sure you don't go back on your word."

"We're almost there." Dean turned the music up and ignored Sam.

**Bobby's**

They pulled up at Bobby's, got out of the car, and stepped around the various car parts that lay scattered around his yard.

A German Shepherd puppy came running up to meet them.

"Hey boy." Sam knelt down next to it and petted it. He was relieved when the puppy didn't sense the virus in him and back away.

"Bobby, you home!" Dean shouted.

The door flew open and Bobby came out smiling.

"Hey boys, nice to see you again."

"Nice dog." Sam said standing up.

"Still miss my old one, but she'll do." He looked back and forth between the brothers. "I heard about John, I'm sorry, he was a good man, a good friend."

"Yeah he was." Dean said softly.

"Well, what have you two been up to? Keeping yourselves out of trouble I hope."

"We've got a problem Bobby and I'm hoping you can help. I didn't want to explain it over the phone."

"Sure, whatever I can do, you know that."

"Remember awhile back you and Dad were working on a serum to cure the virus from a werewolf bite?"

"Yeah." Bobby's face wrinkled with worry. "You know someone that got bit?"

Dean took a deep breath.

"Yeah….Sam."

"Sam?" Bobby looked at Sam and Sam could see the fear and worry in his eyes.

"Yeah, he was attacked last full moon."

"And the werewolf that attacked him?"

"He's dead."

Bobby shook his head sadly as he looked at Dean.

"Dean…"

It was obvious Bobby didn't want to talk in front of Sam.

"It's okay Bobby….what ever you have to tell Dean you can say in front of me." Sam said.

Bobby still kept silent.

"What is it Bobby?" Dean asked.

"Dean…your Dad and I never found the cure."

"But Dad was so sure you two were close to finding one." Dean felt like he had been hit in the stomach. He had been sure Bobby could help, but now his hope was being shattered.

"Close, yeah….but…" Bobby shook his head. "But close doesn't win ballgames."

"Hey…" Sam put his hand on Dean's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze when he saw the look of devastation on his brother's face. "It's okay….you tried…This wasn't a sure thing, we both knew that."

Dean wasn't about to give up. He looked at Bobby.

"How close were you?"

"Pretty close…but then John went off on a hunt….and …well now he's gone. I haven't worked on it since he left."

"Well how 'bout me? Can't you and I work on it?"

"I don't know Dean, the research kind of came to a standstill after John left."

When Sam walked away and stood looking out over a field deep in thought, Dean walked closer to Bobby not wanting his brother to hear.

"Bobby, I'm not losing my brother to this damn virus. There's got to be something we can do."

"I'm sorry Dean but right now the only alternative you have is to lock him up every full moon. Hopefully if he doesn't taste human blood the virus will lose its potency over time."

"How much time?"

"Months, years….there's no way of knowing."

"Sam isn't going to like to hear that…if he finds out there's no hope…I'm…." Dean swallowed hard before continuing. "I'm scared I'm going to lose him Bobby. I'm scared he's going to kill himself."

"Would he really do that?"

"Knowing Sam yeah…if he thinks he's protecting someone." Dean gave a little smile. "Sammy's always been willing to sacrifice himself to save someone." He said with pride.

"Yeah, you Winchesters are like that."

"Yeah." Dean said remembering how his dad sacrificed his life so he could live. He looked over at Sam who still had his back to him and swore that he'd die before he'd lose another member of his family.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter fourteen

Sam slowly turned around and walked back over to Dean and Bobby. Bobby could tell Sam needed to talk to his brother alone so he headed back toward his house.

"You boys come in when you're ready and make yourself at home." Bobby called back over his shoulder.

Sam looked at Dean.

"Well I guess that's it then."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's no hope…there's nothing anyone can do….it's over…I heard Bobby …."

"It's not over till it's over Sam. We still have time."

"How much, three weeks? That's not a lot of time Dean. I really think we need to say our goodbyes and I'll just be on my way." Sam figured he might as well leave Dean while he was well, he was glad they were with Bobby, he had always been like a second father to them and Sam knew he would watch out for Dean and help him to adjust to life without him.

"Damn it Sam you're not going anywhere. We have three weeks to try to find a cure. You heard Bobby; he said Dad and him were close to finding some way to fight this thing. And I don't want you giving up hope until there is none."

"Dean….I just figured it would be easier if I left now rather then wait till the last minute."

"Oh, and what am I suppose to do after you blow yourself away? Did you ever think about that Sam?"

"I'm sorry Dean…I don't want to hurt you but we really don't have a choice in this…and I don't want you to try to stop me; it's my life and my decision. There's no way I want to turn into one of those things and have you have to hunt me down."

"Okay, I won't try to stop you but at least give me two weeks to work with Bobby on a cure….when I called him he said we could stay as long as we needed to….I'm only asking for two weeks Sam, it's not that long. And then if we don't find anything, you're free to go."

"And you won't try to stop me?"

"No, I won't stop you."

"Okay, but only two weeks. If we can't find a cure I'm out of here before the next full moon…. Deal?"

"Deal."

**Almost three weeks later**

Dean had managed to talk Sam into staying a few more days. Days that were spent going over their dad's and Bobby's journals but Bobby kept coming up with the same conclusions. The only possible way to help Sam was if his blood was injected into Dean who had the same blood type. But it had to be injected during a full moon so that the virus was at its most potent phase. They were hoping that Dean's blood would build up antibodies which could then be injected back into Sam to hopefully destroy the virus. Dean knew Sam would throw a fit if he knew what they were planning and didn't want him to find out but he had heard them discussing it when they thought he was asleep and he immediately objected to it.

"No! No way! I'm not infecting my brother!" Sam told Bobby.

"It might be the only way to help you." Bobby stated.

"There's only one way to help me and that's with a bullet, and you both know that."

Dean looked over at Sam.

"Sam, I really think this will work….I'm willing to take the chance."

"Well I'm not! What if it doesn't work Dean? What if you get infected?...No, we're not doing it."

"Sam…."

"I said no….end of story."

"Okay then we'll think of something else." Dean said appearing to give in but he gave Bobby a little wink when Sam wasn't looking. This might be Sam's only hope and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to give it a try.

**Later that night**

Sam waited till Dean and Bobby were both asleep then packed his bag taking one of the guns loaded with silver bullets out of the trunk and put it in his bag. He then put a note next to Dean's cot and with tears in his eyes slipped out the door and into the night. It would be better this way and easier on Dean he thought as he started walking down the road determined to end it before anyone else got hurt.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks for the reviews, I hope you continue to like the story

Blood Moon

Chapter fifteen

**Early the next morning**

"Sam!" Dean shouted as he stood on the porch looking out over the littered junkyard. "Damn it Bobby I should have known he'd pull a damn stunt like this…." Dean searched the trunk of the car then slammed the lid down. "And he took one of the guns and some of the silver bullets."

"We got to get out there and track him down; the full moon is only a few days away." Bobby went back in the house and grabbed their jackets plus a tranquilizer gun. As he was leaving he found Sam's note on the floor, he picked it up and took it outside with him.

"We see him; we take him down with this." He held up the gun.

"You sure that thing won't hurt him?"

"I'm sure….maybe knock him for a loop for a day or two, but he'll recover." Bobby then handed Dean the note. "This was lying next to your bed."

Dean read it out loud.

_Dean,_

_I had to leave; I can't let you infect yourself to try to save me. This is the only way to be sure and end this thing and you know that. I'm sorry but I had no choice, I hope you understand. Please don't come looking for me, it will only make it harder…. Dean, I just want you to know I couldn't have asked for a better brother..…Take care and stay safe._

_Sam_

"Damn it Sammy!" Dean blinked back tears as he wrinkled up the note and threw it on the ground. "Bobby we got to find him. I think he's really going to do it….I think he's really going to blow himself away."

"Do you have any idea where he'd go?"

"Somewhere alone, somewhere where he wouldn't run into anyone."

"Well down the road a ways there's a patch of thick woods which lead to a small pond. Not many people know about it." Bobby looked at Dean. "Don't you remember your dad and me took you boys fly fishing there when you were kids?"

"That's it! That's where he'd go! We got to get going Bobby but we need to use a different car, if he hears the Impala he'll know we're out looking for him."

"Well I got a bunch of cars to choose from. How 'bout the old Nova?"

"Good enough…let's go."

**Later **

They jumped in the car and headed toward the pond. Dean had no idea how much of a head start Sam had on them and was worried that Sam might have already ended his life. He swallowed hard and looked out the side window while Bobby drove. If Sam was gone he didn't know if he had the strength to go on. Sam was all he had left now that their dad was gone.

"Hurry Bobby…." Dean said softly as he prayed they weren't too late.

They had driven for about twenty minutes when Bobby pulled over to the shoulder of the road.

"Let's just hope he's in there. Because if he isn't…. he could be anywhere. Maybe someone even picked him up." Bobby said as he climbed out of the car

"He better be in there or I'm so going to kick his ass when we get a hold of him." But Dean knew if Sam wasn't in the woods, he'd more then likely be dead when and if they found him, too much time had past.

They walked as quietly as they could through the thick woods keeping their eyes out for any movement. About ten minutes later Dean held his hand up signaling Bobby to stop walking. He put his finger up to his lips warning him to be quiet as he pointed toward a small clearing up ahead. They could see Sam sitting on a large rock looking out at the small pond, his hand holding the gun in his lap. Dean felt a cold chill shoot his heart as he looked at his brother; Sam seemed so lost and scared. Bobby handed the tranquilizer gun to him.

"Here, you're a better shot then I am."

"Once he's hit, how long till it takes affect?" Dean asked as he aimed the gun at his brother and sited in on him.

"About a minute."

"Damn….that will still give him time to shoot himself."

"If you can think of something better, you better come up with it soon." Bobby nodded toward Sam. "I think he's getting ready to do it."

Sam sat looking down at the gun which he now held in front of him as if trying to get the courage up to do it.

"Maybe you can talk him out of it." Bobby said.

Dean thought for a few seconds then handed the rifle back to Bobby.

"I have a plan…. You stay out of sight and I'll go over and talk to him, then when I get close to him I want you to shoot him….After he's hit I'll grab the gun before he has a chance to react."

"Think it'll work?"

"It has to." Dean said as he waited for Bobby to get out of sight. He then began walking toward Sam.

"Hey!" Dean called out to his brother who spun around a look of shock on his face.

"Dean! What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"You know you can't hide from me Sammy… Even when we were kids playing hide and seek I always found you." Dean said smiling as he slowly walked toward him. "So what's new?"

"Stay back Dean…" Sam said taking a few steps back.

"I just want to talk Sam." Dean said holding up his hands as he walked closer.

"You're not going to change my mind Dean. There's no way I'm letting you infect yourself."

"Just put down the gun and let's talk."

"I can't do that Dean." Sam lowered the gun to his side but held on to it.

"Sam…I lost Dad, I don't want to lose you too."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice…"

"Please Sam…" Dean looked behind Sam as he talked hoping Sam would think someone was coming up behind him. It worked….Sam turned slightly and glanced over his shoulder. As soon as he did Dean jumped for the gun and got it away from Sam just as the tranquilizer dart pierced his chest.

"No…..no….." Sam said shaking his head as he backed away from Dean. He reached up and pulled the dart out and dropped it on the ground.

"I'm sorry Sam but you got to let me try to help you."

"No Dean….please….you promised." Sam stumbled backwards already feeling the effect of the powerful drugs. "You promised…."

"I'm sorry Sam , but I'm not losing you."

It was the last thing Sam heard before he fell to the ground and passed out.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

I appreciate the reviews, thanks again.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter sixteen

As soon as he fired the shot Bobby came out of the woods and walked over to Dean who was kneeling next to Sam's body, his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"He okay?" Bobby asked as he slung his rifle over his shoulder.

"Sleeping like a baby." Dean smiled up at him.

"Well we better get him back to the house before someone spots us."

Dean picked Sam up under his shoulders and Bobby grabbed his legs. They carried him back to the car and gently put him in the back seat, they then sped back to Bobby's

**Bobby's**

Once they got back to Bobby's they took Sam out of the car and put him into a back bedroom. They then took a long chain and chained Sam's ankle to the heavy wooden bed, they left enough chain so that he could walk around the room but he wouldn't be able to leave it.

"He's really going to be pissed off when he wakes up." Dean said standing back and looking at his shackled brother who lay unconscious on the bed.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this." Bobby asked. "We're not even sure if it's going to work. Sam could be right; we might just end up infecting you."

"It's the only thing we have Bobby."

"But you know the risk Dean….If this doesn't work you could end up like Sam."

"I'll take the chance Bobby… My brother's all I have left. If this doesn't work…."

"If it doesn't work what are you going to do?"

"Well we can't keep ourselves chained up every full moon, not both of us. I guess if it doesn't work we'll have to take Sam's way out."

"Kill yourselves?"

"What else can we do Bobby? If I'm infected I won't be able to take care of Sam and I don't want either of us hunted down like mad dogs. I'll take Sammy off somewhere and…"

"And what? Kill him, then yourself?"

Dean winced at Bobby's words. Could he actually kill his brother?

"If I have to ….yeah."

"You think you'd actually be able to kill your brother?"

"Bobby….I'd do anything not to but … but I can't let him go through that hell every month. If I get infected … then yes, I'll take care of both of us."

**The next day**

Dean, who slept on a sleeping bag next to Sam's bed, woke up to the sound of his brother softly moaning. He got up and stood next to the bed.

"Sam…"

"Oh man….what happened?" Sam said as he opened his eyes. "I feel like I ran a marathon….and then started running another…." Sam sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed; he then noticed the chain around his ankle and looked at Dean. "What the hell's going on Dean?"

"Sorry Sam I didn't have a choice."

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to remember what had happened. Then it suddenly came to him. He had left Dean in order to stop him from infecting himself.

"Damn it Dean you promised me ...You promised me you'd let me end this my way!"

"Well I lied." Dean gave a small smile.

"Dean I'm not letting you infect yourself, it's too dangerous. It ain't going to happen." Sam grabbed the chain and began pulling on it trying to break it loose from the heavy wooden leg of the bed but it wouldn't budge. "Damn it Dean!" He shouted looking over at his brother.

"Sam, I read Dad's journal about the virus…..he's pretty certain that it'll work. And I've talked to Bobby…."

"What if it doesn't Dean? What if you just end up infecting yourself? What good is that going to do us? Please Dean….don't do it." Sam pleaded with him. He knew there would be a full moon the day after tomorrow and he was scared, scared of what he would become, and scared that his brother would go through with his plan.

"Sam it's the only way."

"Bullshit! There is only one way and you know it!" Sam looked down. "I should have blew myself away as soon as I got to the pond….I shouldn't have sat there thinking about it….I should have just done it."

"And did you ever think about me? What the hell am I suppose to do if you're gone? Sam… you're all I have left." Dean choked on the words and turned away not wanting Sam to see the tears that filled his eyes; he always tried to hide his emotions, especially from his baby brother.

"I'm sorry Dean…I really am, but…" Tears filled Sam's own eyes. "I'm scared….I'd rather it be over with then to feel that hate in me again. Last time it took every ounce of strength I had not to attack you….Dean,.I don't want to hurt anyone….especially you…Please…please turn me loose and let me leave."

"Sam this is our only shot, and we're going for it."

"At what price Dean….your life?

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks once more for the reviews, I'm glad you like the story.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter seventeen

"No one's dying Sam."

"How can you be so sure?...Oh sure the virus won't kill you, at least not outright, but it's going to make you wish you were dead. It's too late for me Dean I already have it, but you don't. You can still walk away from this….Please Dean, I'm begging you, don't infect yourself for some theory of Dad's that might not even work."

"But I think it will work Sam….and so does Bobby."

"Well I'm not taking that chance."

"I don't think you have a choice in this." Dean gave a small smile as he nodded toward the chain.

"Give me the key Dean." Sam said standing up and holding out his hand.

"I don't think so."

"Give me the damn key Dean!" Sam made a move toward Dean who quickly stepped back. When Sam got to the end of the chain he tripped and went down hard. "Damn it Dean give me the key!" He yelled as he sat up then looked at his brother as he rubbed his ankle. "Dean give me the key, this is my problem….don't make it yours."

"It's our problem Sam, not yours, ours."

Just then Bobby walked into the room.

"Bobby…" Sam said as he stood up. "Bobby don't let him do this….please Bobby I'm begging you, don't let him do this."

"Sam, your brother and I went over your dad's and my notes, we think this might work."

"You think! Bobby if it doesn't work Dean and I both our going to be infected, we'll both have this damn virus….And then what are we suppose to do, lock ourselves away every full moon? I can't live like that and I know Dean can't either. Please just give me the key and let me end this the only way I can."

"Sorry kid, your brother will have my head if I do that."

"Bobby…."

"Sorry Sammy."

Dean looked over at Sam and smiled.

"Looks like you're out voted Sam."

Sam shook his head sadly knowing it was useless to argue with them, he then walked back over and sat on the bed.

**The following night**

"This is it Dean, once we do this there's no backing out." Bobby walked over to Dean.

"I know Bobby…but its Sam's only hope."

"Then let's get it over with."

Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed when they walked into the room. The full moon hadn't risen yet but already he was wincing from pain as the virus became active in his body. He looked up at Dean his body trembling and covered in sweat.

"Please Dean don't do this….please."

"It's going to be alright Sammy. Just relax."

"No please….. please…." Sam moaned then put his head down and pressed the palm of his hands against his temples. "Dean!" He screamed as an agonizing pain shot through his head.

Dean started to reach out to his brother when he heard his painful cry but Bobby pulled him back.

"It's now or never Dean." Bobby said as he grabbed Sam and threw him back on the bed. Before Sam could react he chained each of his hands to a bed post and at the same time Dean quickly chained his feet to the bottom bed posts. At the moment Sam was in too much pain to fight them but as the pain eased up he struggled against the chains.

"Let me go!" He screamed as his eyes turned a darkish yellow and foam dripped from the corner of his mouth. "Oh God Dean it hurts!" He cried out in agony as he threw his head back on the pillow.

Dean stood next to the bed his eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry Sammy. I'm sorry." He said softly. It was ripping him apart to see his brother in this much pain and not being able to do anything to help him. He looked over at Bobby. "Let's get it over with."

Bobby took a syringe out of his pocket and walked over to Sam, he then ripped open Sam's shirt sleeve and looked over at Dean.

"You sure about this?"

"Just do it Bobby."

Dean held Sam's arm down while Bobby plunged the needle into his vein and withdrew a tube of blood. Sam fought him all the way but the chains held and there was little he could do. Bobby then turned to Dean who held his arm out to him.

"Nooooo!" Sam screamed as his body arched up on the bed. He wasn't completely under the virus's effect yet and still knew what was happening.

"Do it Bobby." Dean said when Bobby hesitated.

Bobby took hold of Dean's arm and injected his brother's blood into his system.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter eighteen

Dean could actually feel Sam's blood enter his system. He took an involuntary step backward as he felt a warm burning feeling shoot up his arm and then down across his chest.

"You okay?" Bobby asked grabbing Dean's arm to steady him.

It took Dean a few seconds to recover.

"Yeah...yeah I'm okay."

Dean looked over at Sam who now was completely under the virus's control. He fought the restraints with everything he had. His young handsome face was now twisted with hate and rage; his lip curled back showing his clenched teeth as he looked at them. His only thought, to get lose and rip them both to shreds. Dean wondered if one day that would be him. He knew if this didn't work he had just committed himself to a life of hell. He knew if he too became infected he would have to talk it over with Sam when his brother was himself again and together they would decide what to do. He already knew Sam wanted to end it before he hurt anyone and he himself knew he'd want the same thing. He didn't blame Sam for not wanting to live month to month knowing what he would become. And Dean knew if one of them ever tasted human blood it would get worse, much worse. Then the virus would take completely over and they would have no control at all over their behavior. Once they tasted human blood they would spend their lives killing humans and they then would become the thing that they now hunted. He looked down at Sam and his heart broke seeing his brother in so much pain and filled with so much rage. Sam was the kindest, gentlest person he knew, and it hurt him to see his brother filled with such hate and rage and to know that right now he would kill someone without any hesitation. Sam wouldn't want to live like that and neither would he. If this didn't work, they'd go into the woods and take care of it. At least they'd go out together. Dean looked over at Bobby.

"So now what?"

"Now we wait. We figured it'd take about two days to build up antibodies. Then I'll check your blood with the microscope and see if the infection is gone. If it is….when the time is right, we inject some of your blood back into Sam and hope it helps him fight the virus."

"And if the virus is still in my blood?"

"Then we lose and I back off and you boys figure out what you want to do." Bobby sad sadly hoping it wouldn't come to that.

**The next morning**

Dean had a restless night getting up often to check on Sam and to splash cool water on his own face. The virus had caused a fever in him as his body fought the invading cells. Sam had calmed down once the sun had come up and now lay exhausted his body glistening with perspiration. Dean sat by his bed sponging cool water over Sam's chest to cool him off, his only concern was for his brother not himself. Finally, in what seemed like eternity, Sam opened tired eyes and looked at him.

"Dean?"

"Yeah."

"You did it didn't you?" Dean didn't answer him. "Damn it Dean you should have let me take care of it. It would have been all over by now."

"This is going to work Sam, you'll see."

Sam leaned up as far as his restraints would allow him to get a closer look at his brother.

"You look like crap Dean. You're sick aren't you? Damn it Dean why'd you do it? You shouldn't have come looking for me. You should have left me finish it."

Bobby, hearing the brothers talking, walked into the room.

"Do you really have to ask why Sam? … He did it because you're his brother…. he didn't need any other reason." Bobby leaned over and took off Sam's restraints; he was no longer a danger to himself or others till the next full moon. He knew he didn't have to worry about Sam taking off again, at least not while Dean wasn't feeling well. "And you would have done the same thing." He added.

Sam knew that was true, he'd die for his brother if it meant his brother would live. But being on the other end of it, having Dean maybe sacrifice his life in order to help him was different. Each brother could handle their own pain and possible death, but neither wanted to even consider handling their brother's. Sam knew now that Dean had infected himself there was nothing he could do for him but wait and see what happened.

"You look beat Dean, why don't you lay down and get some rest." Sam said as he sat up.

"How're you feeling?" Dean looked at Sam with eyes he could barely keep open.

"A lot better then you." Sam could see the sweat glistening off of Dean's face and knew he had a fever. "Come on…." Sam said taking Dean's arm. "You got to get some rest." Dean, who normally would have fought any help from his brother, let Sam lead him over to a cot in the room. Sam then fluffed up the pillow and helped Dean lie down. "You'll feel better once you get some sleep." Sam said reassuringly.

"You're not going to take off on me again are you?" Dean asked looking up at his brother.

"No….I'm not going anywhere." Sam gave his brother a small smile. "We're in this together now till the bitter end."

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks again for the reviews.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter nineteen

Sam sat by his brother's side throughout the day just as Dean had sat by his. Dean's fever had gotten worse and Sam kept sponging cool water on his face and body hoping to bring the fever down but it didn't seem to be working. He looked up as Bobby walked into the room.

"Bobby we got to get him to a doctor, he's burning up."

"Nothing a doctor can do for him now." Bobby walked over and looked down at Dean.

"There's got to be something…maybe antibiotics or something."

"His body's fighting the virus…We take him to the hospital and they pump him full of antibiotics they'll destroy the immunity his system is building up and then his blood will be of no use to you."

"I don't care Bobby…I'm not going to let my brother die to try and save myself." Sam stood up. "Now are you going to help me get him out to the car or am I going to have to do it myself."

Sam looked down when he felt a hand grab his arm.

"No…" Dean shook his head. "No hospital…"

"Dean you're sick…you could die…"

"No hospital…"

"Dean this isn't working….You're going to die for nothing and I'm still going to have the virus in me. Now I'm taking you to the hospital whether you like it or not."

"Sam…one more day…just one more day…."

"The way you're burning up Dean there might not be one more day."

"I'll take that chance."

"Well I'm not going to. I'm taking you to the doctor even if I have to hogtie you to get you there."

Sam started to reach for Dean but stopped when he felt Bobby's hand on his shoulder.

"Sam … let Dean do this for you. If he's worse by tomorrow I'll take him to the hospital myself."

"Bobby I can't sit back and watch him go through this…"

"Oh, but he was suppose to sit back and let you blow yourself away?"

"That's different….there's no hope for me, but we can save him, he can live."

Bobby pulled Sam away from Dean's bed and led him into the other room..

"Let your brother do this for you. He'd never tell you but it would kill him if he didn't at least try to help you. If we take him to the doctor he'll feel like he failed you. Do you want him to live with that feeling the rest of his life?"

"At least he'll live….Bobby what if he gets the virus? Or worse what if the fever kills him? How am I suppose to live with that? I'm the one who screwed up; I'm the one who got bit. I don't want my brother to suffer for my mistake."

Bobby shook his head.

"You Winchesters are all alike, always willing to sacrifice yourself for each other."

"Bobby I can't lose him…." Sam blinked back tears. "He's all I got left."

"I'll tell you what…..If his fever gets worse, we'll take him to the hospital in the morning. But if we do…. any hope of his body producing immunity against the virus is over. There will be nothing we can do for you Sam."

"I don't care."

As long as Dean would be alright Sam didn't give a damn about himself.

"Well I do."

They both looked up to see Dean leaning against the doorframe.

"What the hell are you doing out of bed?" Sam said hurrying to his brother's side. Dean was too weak to fight him and let Sam lead him back to the bed.

"Sam….you got to let me do this, it's your only hope."

"Dean ….if something happens to you because of me….I couldn't live with that."

"Well I can't live with just sitting by and watching you blow yourself away either Sam. This is our only chance and you're damn well going to let me do this or I'll kick your ass from here into eternity."

Sam gave Dean a small smile; he could tell his brother was having trouble just staying awake and there was no way he was in any shape to fight him..

"I think right now I could take you down with one hand tied behind my back."

"Just try me." Dean was determined not to go to the hospital even if it meant fighting Sam. He knew as weak as he was Sam would win but he'd sure as hell give it his best shot.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter twenty

"Okay…I'm not going to argue with you Dean, you're too pigheaded. But if you get worse you're going and I don't want to hear any lip from you…Deal?"

"I'm fine, I don't need a hospital."

"Deal….or I'm taking you right now."

"Damn it Sam…"

"Deal?"

"Okay, deal." Dean said reluctantly.

Sam relaxed a little; as soon as Dean's temperature went up even a little he was taking him to the hospital. He knew he'd be sealing his own fate but at least his brother would live.

**Later**

Sam and Bobby took turns sitting by Dean's side throughout the rest of the day and into the night. Sam had stayed with him through most of the day but when he fell asleep exhausted in his chair Bobby took over. At three thirty in the morning Sam put his hand on Dean's forehead and could tell his temperature had risen. He didn't hesitate; he knew what he had to do.

"Bobby wake up!" Sam said shaking Bobby awake. "Dean's burning up; we got to get him to the hospital. You got to help me get him to the car."

Bobby knew it was hopeless to argue with Sam, he knew Sam was taking Dean to the hospital with or without his help. He got off his cot and together they picked up Dean and took him to the car then put him in the backseat and covered him with a blanket. As weak as he was Dean still tried to fight them, he knew if the hospital gave him antibiotics they would destroy any hope they had of helping Sam. His brother would have to live with the virus the rest of his life, if he even had a life. He was terrified that Sam would still try to end his life rather then live with the curse. But he had no choice he was too weak to fight them and before he knew it Sam was flying toward the hospital.

Sam kept his foot floored all the way to the hospital and ignored Dean's pleas, begging him to turn back. Once he reached the emergency room entrance he pulled up next to it and ran into the hospital. He found two orderlies who ran back to the car and helped him put Dean onto the litter then rushed him into the hospital. Sam watched as they wheeled Dean into one of the small cubicles and pulled the curtain shut. He quickly filled out fake medical information on the forms they handed him then followed his brother into the room. A doctor was already examining Dean.

"Are you related?" The doctor asked looking up.

"He's my brother….How is he?"

"How long has he been like this?"

"A day or two."

"You should have brought him in immediately. A high fever like this can damage his heart." The doctor scolded Sam.

"He didn't want to go to the hospital." Sam said telling the truth. Tears glistened in his eyes as he looked at Dean who weakly tried to push the doctor's hands away. "You can help him can't you?"

"We need to get his fever down then pump him full of antibiotics." The doctor said as he withdrew a tube of blood from Dean's arm and handed it to a nurse.

Dean weakly grabbed the doctor's arm.

"No….no antibiotics…" Dean knew antibiotics could destroy the immunity his body was already starting to build, and with that destroyed there would be no hope for Sam.

The doctor looked at Sam.

"Why doesn't your brother want antibiotics?...Is he allergic to them?"

"No….he's just a stubborn son of a bitch." Sam gave a little smile when he saw Dean look up at him. "It's going to be alright Dean…just let the doctor help you."

"Sam no….don't do it…please Sam…"

"He must be delusional." Sam said when he saw the doctor look at him wondering why Dean was so against getting help.

"You're sure he's not allergic to penicillin? We usually wait till we get the blood work back but the sooner we start your brother on antibiotics the better."

"Yeah I'm sure. Just get him started on it….just help him."

The doctor first packed Dean's body in cold towels to try and bring his fever down then had to restrain him physically when he tried to fight the insertion of an IV tube. The doctor ended up tying his arms down then inserting the tube and began the antibiotic IV drip. Dean tried his best to fight him but he was too weak.

Sam said a quick prayer that it would work. He knew since he was bitten directly by the werewolf antibiotics wouldn't work for him, but he prayed they would for his brother.

"Now all we can do is wait." The doctor said wiping his hands on a towel. "I'll have him moved up to a room and you can sit with him if you'd like."

"Yeah, I need to be with him."

Sam followed behind Dean as they wheeled him to a room. He knew now that Dean was on antibiotics any hope that Dean's blood could save him was gone, but at least his brother now had a chance to live.

TBC 


	21. Chapter 21

**Blood Moon**

Chapter twenty one

**Two days later**

Sam had stayed by Dean's side through out the last two days and now sat in the chair next to the bed his head resting in his hand, his eyes shut. Over the soft rumblings of the TV set a soft moan coming from the bed wakes him and he immediately jumps up and stands at his brother's bedside. His face broke into a big smile when Dean opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Hey….welcome back."

"Sam…" Dean started to talk but his thirst made it hard to talk and he reached for the water next to his bed.

Sam picked up the water and held it up for Dean. He took a sip then looked at his brother.

"Sam, do you know what you did?"

"It doesn't matter."

"The hell it doesn't." Dean said angrily. "You should have given me another day."

"Dean you were burning up….in another day you might have died."

"You don't know that for sure. And now you just destroyed any chance there might have been to help you."

"I don't care."

"Well I do."

"Dean…you could have died. I wasn't about to let that happen."

"Damn it Sammy." Dean shook his head sadly. "So what happens now…you still thinking about taking off on me?" He looked back up at his brother.

"I don't know Dean. It might be the best thing for both of us if I just disappeared."

"Look… I don't want you to do anything until we have a chance to talk."

"Okay…we'll talk it over first, but you're not talking me out of it."

"I won't try to… but promise me that you're not going to take off till we talk."

"I promise."

"Okay, then let's get me signed out of here."

Sam knew that Dean should rest another day in the hospital before being released but he also knew the longer they stayed the more chance there was that their fake IDs would be discovered. He went to the nurse's station and filled out the proper paperwork then had Dean sign it and they soon were on their way.

**Later on the drive back to Bobby's**

"The doctor told me the lab never saw blood work like yours. He asked if I had any idea how you got sick." Sam said glancing over at Dean.

"And I'm sure you told him." Dean smiled.

"Yeah, I told him I got bit by a werewolf and we were using you as a guinea pig to see if your blood could build up an immunity against it." Sam smiled back.

Dean gave a little laugh.

"He'd lock you in a loony bin if you told him that."

Sam laughed then suddenly became serious.

"Dean… I want to thank you for trying. You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah I did." Dean knew he would have done anything to save Sam.

**Bobby's**

They pulled up at Bobby's and Sam helped Dean, who was still weak, out of the car. Bobby, hearing them pull up, came out to meet them.

"How is he?" He asked Sam.

"He should be fine."

Sam helped Dean into the house and over to a chair. Dean then looked up at Bobby.

"Why did you let him take me in Bobby? It might have worked, we might have saved him."

"It's not Bobby's fault Dean." Sam said speaking before Bobby could answer him. "We could have lost you."

"Or we could have saved you." Dean looked over at Sam. "We'll try it again next month."

"No, I'm not letting you go through that again."

"Sam…." Dean started to protest.

"You almost died Dean. It's my problem, and I'll handle it my way."

"Oh, so you're going to run off and blow your brains out! That's the way you're going to handle it?"

"Yeah, if I have to!"

"Well then you're a damn coward Sam!"

"Coward! Why? Because I don't want you to die trying to save me?"

"No, because…."

Bobby stepped between them.

"Will you two shut the hell up?" Bobby put his hand on Sam's shoulder and pulled him back away from Dean. "I got a little surprise for you boys." He said as he walked into the small kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

Dean and Sam glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders; neither knew what Bobby was talking about. He took something out of the refrigerator and walked back over to the brothers. He held his hand up and between his thumb and index finger was a glass tube of blood.

"Thought maybe we might be needing this." He said smiling.

"Tell me that's my blood Bobby." Dean said hopefully.

"Yep, it's your blood Dean. I took it from you on my last watch. I looked at it under the microscope last night and it looks like the virus is gone."

"Then it worked!" Dean said smiling.

"We don't know that for sure, but it sure looks good."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sam asked.

"Because I didn't want to get your hopes up, I wasn't sure if Dean's blood had time to produce enough antibodies to attack the virus."

"How will we know if it does work?" Dean asked.

"Well the bad thing is we'll have to wait till the next full moon when the virus is at its full strength. Then we'll inject it into Sam and see how he reacts. John's theory was that as soon as the antibodies start attacking the virus there should be noticeable improvement almost immediately."

"Another full moon?" Sam looked at Bobby and both Bobby and Dean could see the fear on Sam's face. "Bobby, I don't want to go through that again….I'm scared….I'm scared I'll turn and this time I won't make it back."

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

Thanks again for the reviews, I appreciate each of them.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter twenty two

"I'm sorry Sam but we don't have a choice, we have to inject Dean's blood during the full moon when the virus is at its most potent phase." Bobby explained.

Sam looked over at Dean.

"Dean….I don't want to turn again…I can't go through that feeling again….You don't know what it's like…" Tears glistened in Sam's eyes.

"Sam it will be okay. I'll be here, Bobby will be here…you won't be alone and this time it's going to work."

"I don't know Dean…I don't know if I can go through it again…. I tried to fight it last time but I could feel it growing in me….the hate …the rage…and finally all I could think about was killing….and it didn't matter who."

"Well this is the last time you have to go through it. Next full moon it ends."

"Can you promise me that Dean that it will end? And if it doesn't, will you promise me that you'll end it for me?"

"Sam, let's not go through this again."

"Just promise me Dean and it's the last time I'll bring it up. Bobby said the immunity should start working almost immediately, but if you can tell that it's not working, I want you to kill me while I'm still turned, it will be easier for you that way."

Dean hesitated and then said what he knew his brother needed to hear, even though he didn't know if he could go through with it.

"Okay Sam, if it doesn't work I'll take care of it for you."

"Promise?"

"Promise." It was the hardest promise Dean ever had to make, he prayed he wouldn't have to keep it.

**Later**

Dean and Sam spent the next month helping Bobby rebuild some of the cars in his junkyard trying to keep their minds off what they knew was coming, each one dreading the next full moon but neither wanting to bring up the subject. Dean was worried about what was going to happen if the antibodies in his blood didn't work and Sam was worried whether or not Dean would keep his promise

**Early evening – the night of the full moon**

All day both brothers paced nervously each trying to put up a brave front in front of the other. As the sun went down Sam reluctantly left them chain him to the bed. He swallowed hard and blinked back tears, he was scared to death. Dean did what he always did when he was scared, he joked. But Sam could see right through his charade, he knew Dean was as scared as he was. Sam finally looked up at his brother.

"Dean if this doesn't work…you know what to do."

"It's going to work Sam don't worry." Dean didn't want to think about the promise he had made. How could Sam expect him to kill his own brother? He'd rather die himself then do that. Dean and Bobby both stood by Sam's bed as the moon slowly rose in the sky. Sam at first began to moan then began thrashing around in the bed as wave after wave of pain shot through his body. Tears ran down his face, he was terrified. But soon the fear past and the rage set in. He looked at them and they could see the hint of yellow in his eyes as his face twisted into a mask of hate and rage.

"It's time Dean." Bobby said as he went to the refrigerator and brought over the tube of blood. He filled the syringe with the blood then looked at Dean. "If you know any prayers now would be a good time to say them." Bobby had no idea if the antibodies would work; he knew all they could do was try it was the only hope they had.

Dean reached over and grabbed Sam's arm and held it steady for Bobby who quickly stuck the needle in a vein and pressed the plunger. Once the blood was in Sam both Bobby and Dean stepped back and prayed for a miracle. Sam, his body now covered in sweat, continued fighting the restraints with every ounce of strength he had to free himself.

**Ten minutes later**

Sam's head suddenly flew back and he gasped in pain as his body began to go into convulsions and his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Bobby what's going on?" Dean began to panic.

"I don't know." Dean could tell Bobby was as scared as he was. "This is the first time we've tried this and I have no idea what to expect."

Sam was visibly becoming weaker and weaker as he began gasping for air. Then suddenly his body arched up on the bed then went limp and his head fell to the side. He gasped in one last breath then lay still.

"Bobby it's killing him!" Dean began reaching for his brother. "He can't breathe!" Dean started to lean down to perform CPR but Bobby quickly grabbed his arm and yanked him away. "Let me go!" Dean struggled to pull himself away.

"Dean I can't! If you get his saliva in your mouth you'll be infected!"

"I don't care! I'm not letting my brother die now let me go!"

"Dean he's peaceful….he's not suffering. Let him go…it's what he would want."

"Noooooo!" Dean began to sob as he looked at his brother's body. He knew Bobby was right it was what Sam would want, but it wasn't what he wanted.

"He's at peace Dean…..I'm sorry…. I'm sorry it didn't -work; we did everything we could for him. But he told you himself he didn't want to live like that."

"I can bring him back Bobby….Please just let me try to bring him back."

"Dean." Bobby spun Dean around till he was looking at him. "It's for the best. Sam wouldn't want to live like that, you know that. He wanted to end it himself last month and he wanted you to end it for him if this didn't work. Its better it happened this way…..you'll see. It's what Sam would want, you know that. Deep inside you know this is for the best."

"Oh God Bobby…." Tears ran down Dean's face, tears he didn't try to hide. He looked back at Sam who looked so much younger then his true age. His face now had a peaceful look to it. "I'm so sorry Sammy….I'm so sorry…." Dean sobbed as he undid Sam's restraints then crawled into bed with him and pulled him into his arms.

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

This is the last chapter and I hope no one is disappointed with the ending. Thanks to everyone who took the time to review I really appreciated each of them.

**Blood Moon**

Chapter twenty three

"Sammy I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." Dean never knew it could hurt this much to lose someone. He had been devastated when his dad died but this pain, this pain was overwhelming. His baby brother was dead. He pushed Sam's long bangs out of his eyes as he held him tight. "I can't do this without you Sammy." He said softly. He couldn't even begin to imagine living without his brother by his side. Sure he had survived when Sam was in college but he had known his brother was out there somewhere and could always find him if he wanted to. But now there was no finding him, now he was gone forever. Tears ran down his cheeks and landed on his brother's face..

Bobby walked over to him and put his hand on Dean's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Dean, I thought it would work." He said softly as he gently squeezed Dean's shoulder. "I'll leave you two alone….so you can say goodbye." Bobby then put his hand on the side of Sam's face. "Bye Sammy." He looked back at Dean as his eyes filled up. "You did the right thing son, don't ever doubt that. If you would have brought him back what kind of life would he have lead? He's at peace now Dean; he's with your dad. You did what he asked you to do….you let him go." Bobby said before leaving the room.

As Dean watched Bobby walk away he wondered if maybe he too should be with their dad….and with Sam. He thought of his gun and knew it would only take one second and he could join them. He knew it was the coward's way out but he didn't care, he was tired of the pain, and tired of his life. He swallowed hard as he looked down at Sam and choked back a sob.

"I'll see you soon Sammy." He said softly.

He then shut his eyes and let the tears flow as he hugged his brother to his chest, tears he would have been horrified to let his brother see. He always tried to hide his emotions but now there was no one to hide them from.

He sat with Sam for the next half hour then slowly got out of bed knowing what he had to do. He walked over and picked up his gun, then stood looking out into the moonlit night. He knew he had to do it quick before Bobby could stop him and he knew he couldn't do it there at Bobby's, that wouldn't be fair to him. He had to go off by himself, somewhere alone with Sam, somewhere quiet. He stuck his gun in his waistband then gently picked up his brother. He carried him to the car then instead of putting him in the back seat he propped him up in the passenger's seat just as if he was riding shotgun with him again. Dean then climbed in the driver's seat and quickly drove away.

As he sped down the country road and around a curve Sam's body slid over and his head fell onto Dean's shoulder.

Dean blinked back tears as he kept his eyes straight ahead and on the road.

**Twenty minutes later**

Dean finally pulled over at the pond where he had found Sam earlier. The same pond he, Sam and their dad used to fish at. This was as good a spot as any he thought as he got out of the car then gently took Sam out and carried him over to the pond. It was here he remembered Sam was the happiest. Their dad had come back from a hunt and he and Bobby had taken them fishing at the pond and they were all together, together at least until their dad went on another hunt. He gently put Sam down next to a large rock.

"We'll all be together again soon Sam… Dad, Mom, Jess, you, and me, will all be together."

Dean then walked over to the pond and looked at the moon light shimmering on the water. It was peaceful and the perfect place to end it all. He took his gun out of his waistband and could almost hear Sam begging him not to do it. But he was tired of hunting and tired of hurting, he just wanted it over with. His whole family was dead and he wanted to be too, he wanted to be with them. The demon had won he thought; all the Winchesters would soon be dead. He slowly raised the gun toward his head.

"Dean…"

Dean hesitated; he could swear he heard his brother's voice.

"Dean…"

Dean slowly turned around and took a step back in shock when he saw Sam sitting on the ground looking up at him.

"Sam? Sammy!" Dean couldn't believe what he was seeing. He walked over to his brother in shock and could see the confused look on Sam's face when he saw the gun in Dean's hand.

"What….What are you doing?" Sam asked, and then he swallowed hard remembering what he had made Dean promise. "Is that for me?"

"No…" Dean looked at the gun. "No…" Dean shook his head as he lowered the gun to his side. He still couldn't believe he was standing here talking to his brother, it wasn't possible. "Sam… I thought you were dead." He said softly still not believing what he was seeing.

"What?"

"You were dead. I watched you die."

"Dean…." Sam gave a nervous smile. "You're scaring me."

"Oh God Sam it's good to see you!" Dean snapped out of his shock and was overjoyed to see his brother was alive. He reached down and pulled Sam up and gave him a hug, then embarrassed quickly released him.

"Now you're really scaring me." Sam knew Dean rarely showed his emotions. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…in fact I'm great." Dean smiled as he stepped back to look at his brother. "You look pretty good for a dead man."

"What's going on….what happened?"

"We gave you the blood and then you suddenly stopped breathing….we thought you were dead…we were sure of it."

"I remember…." Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. "I remember a warm feeling shooting through my body and I wasn't able to move….I could hear voices in the background but I couldn't make out what they were saying….. It was like I was in this warm, dark, safe place."

"You must have been in some kind of temporary coma that made you appear to be dead. Sam, you weren't breathing and I couldn't feel a heartbeat." Dean put a hand on each of Sam's shoulders and looked into his eyes. " How do you feel now?"

"Fine…." Sam looked up at the full moon and smiled. "I think it's over Dean….I can look at the moon and I feel fine."

"Damn right it's over!. God you had me scared Sam."

"Sorry…." Sam looked over at his brother. "Dean…."

"Yeah."

"Why did you have your gun out? What were you going to do?" Sam wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. His brother had always been the strong one, and he didn't want to think Dean could have been contemplating suicide.

"Ummm, just being cautious." He stuck the gun back in his waistband. "You never know what might be out here in the woods."

"Oh." Sam wasn't sure if his brother was lying to him or not but right now it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Dean was okay and that the curse was lifted.

Dean patted Sam on his back and began leading him back to the car.

"I can't wait to see the look on Bobby's face when he sees you." He said smiling.

"You really thought I was dead?"

"Yeah Sam, I really thought you were dead."

"Why did you bring me out here, out to the pond?"

Dean didn't answer, only continued walking toward the car.

"Dean….the gun….you weren't going to…." Sam stopped and waited for Dean to turn around horrified at the thought that his brother might actually have shot himself.

Dean finally turned around and looked at Sam.

"I told you Sam, the gun was only for precaution."

"You sure?" Sam could tell Dean wasn't telling him everything and it scared him.

"Sure I'm sure…. What did you think it was for?"

"Oh…nothing." Maybe he was wrong Sam thought. Why would Dean even consider killing himself, he still had a full life in front of him.

Dean turned and headed toward the car like he didn't have a care in the world, not like a man who only a few minutes ago was going to put a bullet in his head. He knew if his brother wasn't walking beside him right now he'd be dead. He didn't want to live without him. He could never let his brother know that though, that Sam was his weak spot, that the only way to hurt him was to hurt his brother. No, Sam had to go on thinking he was strong and nothing could faze him. That's the way it had to be, that's the way Sam had to see him. He'd be horrified if Sam ever saw his true emotions. Nope, no chick flick moments for him. After all he was Sam's older brother and he needed Sam to feel he could count on him, so he kept his emotions in check. Sam needed him to be strong especially now that their Dad was dead and that's what he had to appear to be. But inside he knew that thinking Sam had died had totally devastated him. Inside he knew if Sam died, he died…. He looked back at his baby brother and smiled.

"You know I was thinking of buying you a dog leash just in case." Dean said grinning.

"Ha Ha very funny." Sam smiled as he hurried to catch up to him.

The End.


End file.
